Smash Hits RIP

In 1978 former NME writer Nick Logan birthed Smash Hits on his kitchen table. The first issues cover star was Plastic Bertrand, and Logan so unsure of the magazine he edited it under the pseudonym Chris Hall. He shouldn?t have worried as the Magazine went on to both mirror and shape the pop music of the 1980?s. Its colour posters became wallpaper for teenagers bedrooms. The real revolution was securing the rights to print the lyrics to ?Smash Hit?of the day. These lyrical crib sheets rested between the pages of school textbooks. Scanning the words to Nik Kershaws ?The Riddle? held a greater appeal to me than studying my French verbs.

Smash Hits was my first introduction to the wonderful world of the music press. Interviews and record reviews showed a wonderfully na?ve and witty take on the world of pop. What they may have lacked in terms of critical analysis they more than made up for with humour, pathos and the ability to show no respect for reputation. My distrust of Paul Weller stems from the amount of abuse he suffered at the hands of Smash Hits. He was ridiculed for his angst-ridden approach to music. He came across as Rik from the Young Ones, the people poet with a guitar. Although I admire Jam I don?t love them as I feel maybe I should and Weller?s post Jam music leaves me cold.

Posh, Ginger, Scary, Sporty and Baby owe a great deal of their brand image to Smash Hits. The nicknames came from the pen of a writer at Smash Hits, plain Mel, Mel, Emma, Victoria and Geri doesn?t have the same ring to it does it.

So why has it died on its feet? Well the landscape of pop has been rapidly changing. The rise of the Internet has provided a free source of lyrics. Britpop crossed over into the mainstream media and much of what was special about the music press started to wither. Oasis and Blur where everywhere so there was no need to seek out something like Smash Hits for coverage.

The irreverent style that had won Smash Hits so many fans. Typical question; what colour is Thursday? Is sadly misplaced in this media trained era. Stars can?t stray from the script that the PR people had given them, they parrot out the same answers across a wide range of publications. Why did you need Smash Hits if the same points are made in Heat or The Daily Mail. In stripping bands of any semblance of personality record companies have not only diluted the colour in the charts but murdered the cut and thrust of the pop music press.

In the past Morrissey would drop quotes about Oscar Wilde or colour of his underwear. It was via Smash Hits that I first came across, Jesus and Mary Chain, New Order, The Cure, The Mission and a cast of 1000?s. The publication did have bite. On an assignment to interview New Order, the bands surly reaction and unfriendly nature resulted in a piece that allegedly cost Barney Sumner his marriage. Bizarre Love Triangle made flesh.

It seems odd with Arctic Monkeys defining a tipping point where organic pop seems to be replacing the manufactured variety that Smash Hits has gone now. I guess the NME has stolen the ground that Smash Hits once owned. If they printed song lyrics then the NME would be Smash Hits in indie clothing.

I doubt Smash Hits will be missed as music has been replaced by a general idea of celebrity at the centre of youth culture. The shifting of Top of The Pops to a Sunday is another sign of this. Heat covers this new ground well and should be praised for its stance on weight issues. Not a week goes by without them attacking celeb?s for being too skinny or praising women who are not afraid to be curvy.

It always sad when any form of printed media folds. It means less voices, less opinion and less choice. I hope someone sat at a desk at the NME is dream of a new pop magazine??..

Tony Heywood

Come see my musical musing at

http://highwayfive.blogspot.com/

Rock ‘n Roll does not start until noon.

Which is why I was left waiting for a phone call for 11 o?clock from Trevor Hurst from the band Hurst – it is now 1145am. Shame on me for not knowing better, but trust me the interview that follows was definitely worth every minute, not to mention his performance later that week! I can?t be too hard on Trevor since he has been touring, promoting and interviewing non-stop and when I finally speak to him, his voice has a slightly raspy sexy tone and is very apologetic, but still very charming even at his early hour!

Even though Econoline Crush has had some huge success in Canada with highly acclaimed albums Affliction, The Devil You Know and Brand New History- I was not one of the scores of fans they did gain. Econoline had too much technical wizardry and not enough vocal for my liking. Not so on Trevor?s new 7- song album called WANDERLUST. Trevor says, ? No sequencers or samplers were injured during the making of this record.? Why? Because there are none! This is just one of the many reasons why I love this album so much. Hursts vocals hold strong and carry the music, which is a mix of rock and melodic riffs. Trevor says, ? I wanted to go natural.? He goes on to say, ? The best music can come from a place in your life that belongs to the struggle, and although music comes from many places- sometimes it?s after you have been writing for hours!?

The beauty of Hurst is that they sound just as good live as the EP is recorded. Trevor explains, ? When I am on stage singing, that is when I feel I am at my best. I love being on the road, not so much the grueling hours of travel – just the stage, the crowds and most of all the music! But, performing on stage comes so ?natural? to Trevor and it?s no doubt, he was involved in musical theatre as a kid and everything grew from there. Hurst is played a series of gigs opening for Canadian rock band THORNLEY. Take note, if another band of this stature thinks that Hurst has what it takes to hold the weight of opening act – are there any questions?

Hurst is on an independent artist managed by Coalition Entertainment?s Julian Gruhl, but is being distributed by MAPLE and Nationwide through Universal Music. So, although he has opted not to sign again with a major record label, Hurst still relies on them for distribution. Trevor breathes deep and gives me his take on record labels, ? I compare the artist/record label relationship much to that of a pimp/prostitute. As an artist you have your talent and the record company packages it and gets you out there, but at the end of the day you only get a percentage of what that is, most times not even half. Like when a pimp sends a prostitute out in the dress that he bought for her, she works, comes back gives him his money and he hangs the dress back up and gives her a cut.? That may seem like an extreme comparison, but when you really look at it, it makes sense. Of course there are many factors that play into each scenario- they always do.

Away from the buzz of L.A., Trevor finds solstice in his Winnipeg roots. The steady grind and shallowness that often sets the tone in L.A. wore on him and he found that leaving was the best thing for him. Now he is back where he it all came from, living with his wife (yes, he IS married, no kids though and no sign of them) in Winnipeg, writing music and singing songs, doing exactly what HE wants!

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ON HURST Trevor Hurst- English, Irish and Scottish decent (that?s where he gets his good looks!) Canadian born- but WORLD CLASS!

GENE SIMMONS of KISS taught him a thing or two when he was on the road- not what you think! HOWEVER – during Hurst performance I did see a flash of an incredibly long tongue on stage. Most of the crowd (ladies) did a double take!!!

Favourite Canadian Artists- The Trews, Sam Roberts, Leonard Cohen (not Matthew Good)

Favourite Songs – Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones and One by U2

INXS contacted him to be a part of INXS ROCKSTAR- he declined. In fact Trevor despised the entire concept of the show to start with. ?INXS should be ashamed of themselves to think that they can replace Michael Hutchence! But I do wish JD FORTUNE well!

Author Interview with Ryan Thomson, seacoast New Hampshire resident, and author of a new book advocating left handed violin playing by lefties. – Playing Violin and Fiddle Left Handed.

This piece started out as an actual interview for an internet website article, but the author has expanded it into its present form, while maintaining the ?interview? format.

What an interesting book! What prompted you to put this book together?

Almost every single time I?ve played in public for the last 10 years a listener has asked me why I hold my violin differently from other players, or has commented on the fact that they?ve never before seen someone play a violin left handed. For example, If you look at any orchestra, you?ll notice that every violinist is playing right handed! Its been this way for hundreds of years. Right and left handed people alike play the violin right handed. Violin teachers instruct all of their students to play right handed whether or not they are naturally right handed.

I knew from early on in my own left handed playing experience that I wanted to explore this interesting subject. I found it fascinating that people who didn?t know whether I was naturally right or left handed would say things like, ?It must be really difficult to play a violin backwards,? as if there was some inherent reason why it should be easier to play it right handed.

I listened to such statements from a very unusual perspective. Unlike almost every other violinist in the world, I actually knew from first hand experience what was involved in the process of first learning to play a violin right handed, and then learning how to play it left handed. My experiences demonstrated the fact that its easier and more efficient to use the dominant hand for tasks requiring skill and coordination. For example, I clearly remember practicing to write with my left hand for amusement when I was a child. I learned to do it fairly well, but the results were always less satisfying than writing with my far more coordinated right hand.

I recognized the similarity between hand writing and playing a violin. I began to put my thoughts to paper when I encountered many right handed ?experts? who opined with an air of authority on the topic of playing a violin left handed. They pointed out ?pitfalls? based entirely on speculation, and strongly discouraged violators of right handed violin playing traditions. Their statements were clearly erroneous when compared to my own experiences and those of many people whom I had interviewed.

In contrast to that, most of the naturally left handed people I?d met were far more knowledgeable about handedness issues and open minded about the possibilities of doing skilled tasks with either hand. Most tools and implements in this world are designed for right handers, and by learning to use them during their lives, the lefties had a great deal of experience in developing ambidexterity, and so could talk about handedness with some authority. I became driven to write a book about the topic.

You say that a disability made the decision for you to play the violin left-handed. Do you mind talking about that?

I used to feel uncomfortable about discussing my disability. As a former professional violinist I experienced a period of lowered self esteem when I could no longer play the violin right handed. Making music on my violin had not only brought great enjoyment to me, but had also enabled me to make a decent living. During the process of mastering left handed violin playing I?ve regained both the pleasure of playing and the income derived from performing and teaching.

The illness has helped me grow in other ways as well. In between right and left handed playing I took up the accordion, started a cajun band, and won a Boston Music Award Nomination for my accordion playing with my band! I also have more patience, more focus, and I?m a bit more ?bulletproof? to the cards that are dealt to me in the game of life. I?m certainly a better music teacher as a result of it as well. The rare condition that I have is named ?focal dystonia,? which is a genetically determined neurological disorder of the muscular system. I have what the doctors call an ?adult onset? version. 14 years ago my brain started sending spurious signals to some muscles in my back behind my right shoulder.

The continuing randomness of these muscle contractions prevents me from properly controlling the motion of a violin bow with my right hand. The bad news is that the condition is permanent, with no cure. The good news is that it can?t get worse, can?t spread, and really only affects a small range of activities in my life. I?m actually quite healthy in just about every way. I?m a distance runner, physically fit, and a do-it-yourselfer around the house. In fact, if I wasn?t a violinist, I would hardly notice my symptoms.

Coming from a family of musicians, do you think this greatly influenced your musical abilities? Would you still be musically inclined even if you weren’t encouraged?

I used to watch my mother play the piano from before I could even play music myself. She was obviously involved in an emotional way with melodies that moved her. She always had good things to say about the various musical ensembles that our relatives had formed. At times she also pointed out music performances that she didn?t like. I noticed that my father often made music just for fun, in ways that brought pleasure to him, like singing in the shower, or even just playing a tune on a harmonica. As a young child I picked up on all of that.

I always scored higher on school aptitude tests in art and music than anything else. But I also scored very high in science, which I think indicated a talent for analyzing and explaining things. For many years I thought that I was to become a scientist, and have music for a hobby, and so studied science all the way through to the graduate level in college. Doing science seemed like a good way for me to make a living. Meanwhile, I began performing in bands while in college and was taken with the fact that people would pay me for something that was so fun to do. I also noted the great pleasure that music brought to the listeners. This made me want to work harder at improving my musical abilities, and as music became my full time occupation, science became my hobby! I became hooked on the physical ?rush? that I would experience when making good music in an ensemble in public performance. It was an feeling similar to that which I?d experience while downhill skiing, a sport which!

I loved to do. I may not have discovered that higher level of pleasure on my own without the efforts of my parents to surround me with music and opportunities for lessons. That?s certainly a good case for the importance of music education for young people.

When you first started playing left-handed, is this when you noticed more people complaining about only being able to play right-handed?

No. I heard first from the contrary right handed establishment. When I began playing lefty in public I was still a bit rough at it and some people, particularly other violinists, would often tell me that I was playing the violin ?wrong,? and that it would be easier for me if I would just play in the ?right way.? Few of them were interested to hear my explanation as to why I was playing left handed. Not only that, but they didn?t even know whether I was right or left handed by nature. and thus their statements seemed counter intuitive to me. I knew that left handed school children got lefty scissors, and righties got righty scissors, and that most children in recent times were allowed to write with their dominant hand, whether it be right or left.

I eventually had a significant experience. I walked off stage after a performance and a man approached me, patted me on the back, and said, ?Good job, we lefties have to stick together.? I was so surprised at that comment that I didn?t know what to say and just nodded at him. After that I started paying more attention to whether people around me were left or right handed in their activities. I eventually met several other left handed musicians, who, noting how I played, and thinking that I was left handed by nature, confided in me that they?d always suspected that they would have been better players if they had played left handed instead of right handed.

They were lefties who had attended grade schools in the 1950?s and 60?s in which teachers would force them to write with their right hands against their natural inclinations. When they got into music, their music teachers also steered them in a right handed direction, again against their natural inclinations. Finally, when I was well into writing this book, I discovered some lefty musicians who had become so fed up with the right handed bias that they had actually taken the time and effort needed to relearn to play their instruments left handed.

And sure enough, they found that they actually could play better left handed! I?ve become a lefty advocate, and an activist even, but I also tried to take care in my book to point out some reasons why lefties might consider playing in the traditional right handed way, despite their natural inclinations. I think that my book gives them the information they need to make an intelligent and informed decision.

How long did it take to complete this book? You’ve included a lot of letters and comments from other violinists.

The book evolved gradually. I guess I started unconsciously gathering information on the very day I began playing the violin left handed. Since I travel widely and perform often in public, a number of other musicians with an interest in left handed playing either heard about me, or saw me perform, and then started writing and calling. I saved their letters and kept up communication with many of them for several years. When the internet became popular the flow of information increased, and aided my progress.

What do family and friends think about your book? I know you’ve written several in the past, but is this one more special?

I?m fortunate that my family is generally supportive of any creative project that I take on. They seem to appreciate the fact that I work hard at things that I?m interested in. And yes, this book is special to me because I?m personally involved with the subject. I believe in the importance of getting it out into the public eye but at the same time I have little sense about the possible level of public interest in such a topic. The reactions of my friends and peers is wildly varying.

Many of my friends, although serious musicians, have no interest in handedness issues, and perhaps think that my book is a bit irrelevant. One friend, a classical violin teacher trained at Juilliard, is strongly opposed to the idea of anyone playing violin left handed. Another right handed friend who runs a private violin school for children is very excited about the concept. After reading my book she immediately changed two of her naturally left handed students over to playing lefty violin.

She had been teaching them in the standard right handed way for two months. She was delighted to report to me that after a couple of weeks playing left handed both were progressing far more rapidly than when they struggled along with right handed bowing! My friend now has 8 of her students under the age of 10 playing left handed!

Are you going to be working on any more books in the future?

I?m continually working on book ideas in my head. The information gets churned around until the day comes when I feel the urge to put my fingers to the word processor. In fact, I became inspired to start writing another book on music even before this one was finished! I?ve started slowly and won?t really dig into it until winter comes.

About The Author

Ryan Thomson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, into a family with a music heritage stretching back to the pioneer days. He grew up in San Diego, California, studied piano as a child, and played in a group recital on live television in 1959. He attended San Diego State University and then moved to New Hampshire in 1976 to study violin repair at the Summer Violin Institute in Durham. The following year he enrolled in a graduate school program of experimental psychology. He designed and taught a college course in the Psychology of Music, while completing his Master of Arts degree.

While attending college he produced a local bluegrass radio show and also hosted a music show on National Public Radio in New Hampshire. In the summers he traveled to music events across the country, and in 1977 became the northeastern regional champion of the National Fiddle Contest in Weiser, Idaho. After college he decided on a music making career and joined a full time Nashville based country band, touring the eastern USA, playing fiddle 6 days a week in dance halls and honky tonks.

In 1988 he acquired focal dystonia, a neurological disease with a genetic origin which causes improper muscular function. He lost control of some muscles in his right back and shoulder area and had to temporarily give up his career of violin playing. He continued in music however, teaching and performing on other instruments, while he patiently retaught himself to play violin left handed. Ryan now plays violin professionally as a lefty fiddler/violinist. He continues to play banjo, guitar, mandolin, piano, and flute right handed. His primary interest is playing fiddle for folk dances, and he also plays chamber music as a serious hobby in his spare time. Along the way he has won numerous awards for fiddle, banjo, and accordion playing.

Ryan presently lives in Newmarket, New Hampshire, headquarters for Captain Fiddle Publications. He is the author of several books on music, and presently teaches music both at the Phillips Exeter Academy during the school year, and at folk music and dance camps nationally in the summer time. You can contact him and find out about his current activities at:

?In human life, art may arise from almost any activity, and once it does so, it is launched on a long road of exploration, invention, freedom to the limits of extravagance, interference to the point of frustration, finally discipline, controlling constant change and growth.? Susanne Langer (1895-1985)

Commentary

In these times of major record label mergers, downsizing, the slashing of label rosters, and thousands of record company jobs being lost over the last three years–not to mention the enormous sea change and seismic shifts that technology has wrought–comes one of the most disturbing reports we have come across. It further reveals just how profoundly out-of-touch certain companies TRULY are when addressing the problems within their own record divisions. The Financial Times reported ?Warner Music, paid its top five executives more than $21m in salary and bonuses following last year’s $2.6bn acquisition of the US music group by a private equity consortium.? The article continues that of the top management, Edgar Bronfman Jr, the Chairman who led last year’s buy-out, received a $1M salary and $5.25M bonus. Lyor Cohen, head of the US recorded music business, received $1M and $5.24M in salary and bonus, respectively. Paul Rene Albertini, head of Warner’s international operations, was paid $1.25M in salary and a $3.15M bonus. Departing Warner/Chappell CEO, Les Bider, received a $2.44M total payment. These payouts include further guaranteed bonuses or change of control payments. According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, last year’s total executive remuneration was more than three times higher than Warner Music’s $7M operating income for the 10 months to September 30th. The management payments reflect Warner’s success in cutting costs following last year’s sale of the Music Group by Time Warner. The company expects to deliver $250M of annualized savings by May this year, achieved mainly through 1,600 job losses.

What is so truly disturbing here is that it speaks volumes about the value system of an owner of a company that would pay its top-five Record Executives more than three times the amount of operating income for a ten-month period while dismissing 1,600 employees.

What the article failed to mention was that in addition to the employee layoffs, Warner Music Group also dropped 93 of the 193 artists signed to Warner Labels in the US, approximately 47% of the artist roster during this same period. If the financial health of a company is truly so dire that it calls for these kind of dramatic and severe cuts for the financial well being of the company, how does one justify the kind of staggering bonus payouts to the top five executives in the company? Don?t get us wrong, we have no problem with executive compensation when it?s tied to actually rewarding performance, but in this case, one is truly hard pressed to grasp or to understand what is actually being rewarded. The claim that the Warner Music Group will save $250M of annualized savings mainly through the decimation of 1,600 jobs is not something that we think should be financially rewarded.

On Feb 11th at the Grammy Foundation Entertainment Law Initiative luncheon in Los Angeles, WMG Chairman Edgar Bronfman spoke to the 460 attendees of the luncheon, ?We must employ our creative imagination ? and we must resist the temptation to conduct business as we always have ? by experimenting with new approaches, new structures and new relationships, so that we can move more quickly and appropriately respond to the ever-changing marketplace.? He went on to request that music attorneys bring a new level of creativity to the deals they forge. ?Your willingness to join with us is critical to the success of our industry.?

If only he had ?resisted the temptation to conduct business like we always have? and not given so much to so few while so many went without. In business, as in life, you lead through example. Mr. Bronfman, with all due respect, you need to have to have your own house in order before you have the credibility to make a request like that to the creative and legal communities.

In an open letter to Warner Music Chairman Edgar Bronfman, Carlos Anaia, a five-year Warner Music Group employee in London who was leaving the company wrote, ?We understand that you took on a huge task to turn around the ailing, forgotten division of AOL Time Warner, but informing the already morale-drained staff (via a third party ? The Financial Times) that the salary and bonuses that the top five executives took individually equal more than 20 times my total lifetime salaried income (assuming I started at 18 and retired at 60), is somewhat more than insensitive. If you want to make us feel like maggots, you succeeded. Paul-Rene Albertini gets paid $4 MILLION in total ? Hello!!? The only deals we are all aware of have all LOST money. Walt Disney Records? It’s still more than $15 million unrecouped. Milan Records? A French turkey. Need I go on? What deals has this guy done that actually MADE money??

Throughout my own career in the music business, and especially in the last ten years, I?ve always been fascinated by the extremely disproportionate amount of money paid to CEOs in the Entertainment Business. Being in the music business for twenty-five years, we?ve seen Major Label CEO salaries/benefit packages go from $200,000.00 – $500,000.00 in salary and bonus payments in the mid 1980?s to literally ten-times that amount, and more, just eight to nine years later for the same job. Throughout the 1990?s, the amount of money and compensation paid to CEOs and other top executives at film studios and major labels continued to reach new levels of financial absurdity, especially in the area of severance packages (the part of their contract that kicks in if they are fired or ?leave the company for any other reason?). You want to know how absurd it?s gotten? It?s to the point now where if you really stop and think about it, there?s no real incentive for CEO?s to try and succeed anymore, other than ego (which we do not underestimate as an extremely powerful and driving force in this business). Why? Because today, we live in an era where more often than not, the consequences of failure for a CEO have become far too financially lucrative! If you don?t believe me, look back over the last ten years and think about all of the labels that have had regimen changes such as when EMI made Charles Koppelman CEO of its music division only to have the entire EMI label close down a few years later with over 135 employees losing their jobs (many with just a two week notice) while Koppelman exited with well over $30M along with other contractual compensation. Consider also the revolving door of CEOs appointed by Gerald Levin (then CEO of AOL Time Warner) to run Warner?s music division in the mid 90?s. Between 1994 and 1998, Warner hired, promoted and fired Doug Morris, Bob Morgado and Michael Fuchs to run the Music Division. Each outgoing executive cost them between $15M ? $25M. Danny Goldberg also clashed with Warner?s brass when he was President of Warner Bros. Records during this time and exited the label after only few years on the job. Goldberg went on to form Artemis, which he then just exited three weeks ago.

Of course, let?s not forget the very well-documented hiring (and very public exiting) of Michael Ovitz, who after eighteen months as President of The Walt Disney Co. (on a multi-year contract) left with over $96M in compensation and stock options – a matter that became a very public battle last year when the stock holders took Disney to court over this enormous payout to Ovitz). Think about it ? this works out to about $533,000 a month, or maybe only $213,000 a month after taxes. Not bad for eighteen months? work, if you can get it.

Finally, who among us could ever forget the all-time greatest, most stunning expensive CEO hirings in the history of Hollywood? How stunning, you ask? So stunning that a three-hundred page book has been written about it called Hit & Run: How Jon Peters &Peter Guber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood. This non-fairy tale involves the powers that be at Sony Corporation, who were convinced by then-CEO of Sony Music Walter Yetnikoff that Peters and Guber were the only executives in the world who could run Sony Pictures, despite the inconvenience of Warner Bros. having both men under contract. Sony HAD to have them and ONLY THEM! The initial cost was somewhere in excess of over $100,000,000.00; because in addition to the over-the-top executive compensation packages that both Peters & Guber received, Warner Bros. was able to get a substantial ownership percentage of Sony?s Record Club (Columbia House) as part of the deal to release Guber & Peters from their contracts. By the time both Peters and Guber left Sony Pictures only a few years later, after a long series of failed movies and expensive studio cost overruns, Sony would write off hundreds of millions of dollars (if not more) in one of the most staggeringly expensive hires ever made by an entertainment company.

So what is it that drives otherwise fairly intelligent and rational business people to make these irrational compulsive and often insane decisions about executive compensation at entertainment companies? It?s a question we?ve been fascinated with for years. In 1982, I asked that question to then-CEO of Warner Communications Steve Ross. I?ve never forgotten his answer; he said, very assuredly, ?In corporate leadership, what you?re really being paid for is your ability to make the right decisions for the direction and growth of the company.? To a 21 year old kid just entering the music business, that seemed to be a very simple, yet logical, answer that made perfect sense. The response has probably been imbued with a greater sense of importance over time, especially since it came from such a legendary captain of industry in the entertainment business. Reflecting on that conversation twenty-four years later, I?m saddened by how distorted and truly destructive executive compensation has become at many of the major labels and the very damaging effects it has had on the companies. It?s distorted because it stops being about compensation at a certain point and becomes a misguided sense of entitlement where, more often than not, there?s absolutely no consequence for any financial losses to the company as a result of the CEO?s performance. Today, more often than not, this is something contractually sanctioned by the corporation. It?s destructive, I believe, because as we?ve seen over and over, especially in the last four years in other industries, the consequences of these types of compensation packages DO NOT promote any sense of commitment, devotion or loyalty to a company, its growth, financial well-being or even in the most extreme cases (e.g. Worldcom, Enron) its very survival.

So what could possibly be the primary reason corporations continue to do this? It?s driven, we believe, by a core yet completely misguided fear that no one else is capable of doing the job — NO ONE!! Consequently, these executives have to be given whatever they ask for! Nothing reflects this mentality more clearly than the often-obscene severance packages you see CEOs carrying away when leaving or being fired from a company.

A further manifestation of this mentality in the business is reflected in the hiring of the same CEOs and executives over and over again regardless of their track records or past performance levels. As we always say ?the names in this business never change, just the addresses underneath them.? This practice of rotating top executives further creates the very powerful perception that there are very few people who can actually do the job. In 25 years of being in this business, we?ve never believed this, yet this deeply held belief is very difficult to change, especially at the highest levels of a company.

A few years ago at a party, I asked a CEO of a major label why this practice seemed so prevalent at the top executive levels of the music & film industries and the response was astounding. He said, ?What you have to understand about the decisions to hire executives at that level, is that very often the boards of the company hiring them are much more comfortable with someone who?s already had the position and done the job regardless of their past track record than someone they don?t know regardless of their ability!? It was a sobering statement to say the least from someone who really understood this process and the mentality that goes into these choices. It also provided real insight into why so few companies today have any executives that go up all the way in the ranks. There are a few, such as Jason Flom, Sylvia Rhone and Jordan Katz, but not many.

So, the question in the boardroom today needs to be, ?How can we inspire a level of dedicated commitment and accountability in our top CEOs to grow the company we?ve made the consequences of failing so financially lucrative??

In this day and age, when so many of our firmly held beliefs about the way things are in the music industry are continually being broken apart and we?re repeatedly being challenged by the brutally sobering new financial realities in the post-merger major label world now emerging: (Viacom?s $18 billion decrease on their radio station valuations; Sony and BMG merging their recorded music operations worldwide; the fracturing of powerhouse NYC law firm Grubman, Indursky & Schindler, once one of the largest and most powerful law firms in the music business, who recently had one of its name partners, Paul Schindler, depart to a competing law firm as well as laying off several attorneys), it?s a very powerful statement of just how out of touch and destructive corporate values like the financial compensation packages at Warner Music are to even their own financial well being and survival. The tragedy, and I use the classic definition of tragedy as ?a fall from greatness due to an unseen flaw in one?s own character,? (and labels truly don?t get much greater than Warner Bros., Elektra & Atlantic, historically speaking), is that the leadership at the Warner Music Group in the most profound sense just does not get it! They truly don?t see it. They still believe, ?this is the way our business needs to be run.?

This isn?t so much a case of ?corporate greed,? but rather something that has become much more pernicious, especially in the last ten years, and that?s this pervasive mentality of ?I truly don?t care as long as I?m taken care of.? The Enron & WorldCom scandals are absolutely classic text book examples of this mentality on a grand scale in every respect!

Ultimately, this just illustrates how Warner Music (and the other labels who subscribe to this mentality in this day & age) still have a real commitment to maintaining & keeping a broken, malfunctioning business in place rather than seeing what can be done to creatively re-invent it in a new way. Their solution is to reduce personnel and cut the amount of artists of the roster, while continuing to pay themselves and their top executives as if they had just had the greatest year of their history. There?s absolutely nothing creative about that! The real tragedy here is not that Warner Music spent $21M on five executive salaries and bonuses, (while letting 1600 people go as well as a drop a significant percent of the Artist roster), but that they felt they had to.

As Bob Lefsetz, a leading music industry consultant and writer so aptly said recently, ?To be this out of touch is to demonstrate you should not be running this enterprise.? And in a creative industry like music that has always thrived on innovation (radio, TV, CDs, the Internet, iPods, satellite & internet radio), and in a time where such rapidly developing and emerging technologies are creating dramatic changes in the culture at an alarming pace as well as creating incredible opportunities and challenges, what great artists starting their career in music would want anything to do with a company that cares more about itself and its own survival than it does about the artists and music on the label?

Is it any wonder the Major Labels Market share continues to stagnate? Or that their ability to break new artists has reached an all time low? This is exactly why major labels in their current state have no future in this New World Order. If they are to be a part of it, they?re going to have to reinvent themselves in a completely new way that reflects the world and times we live in today, not some fantasy of the past.

In closing, I?m reminded of a quote that a brilliant man named Breck Costin once said: ?Always remember that your fantasies have to die before your dreams can come true.?

Ritch Esra 818-995-7458 ritch@musicregistry.com

Bio: Ritch Esra

Since 1992, Ritch Esra and Stephen Trumbull have been running the Music Business Registry which includes The A&R Registry, The Publisher Registry, The Music Business Attorney Registry and The Film and Television Music Guide. The directories give everyone vital, accurate and the most up to date information they need to contact the entire A&R, music, publishing, legal and film/TV music communities, says Ritch. Each directory tells you how to reach these industry veterans by regular mail, E-mail (including web sites), direct dial telephone and fax. Additionally, we provide the exact title, street address, the name of their assistant and the style of music that each executive deals with. Due to the volatile nature of A&R, the A&R Registry is completely updated and reprinted every eight weeks and often has over 100 changes in a single issue. There’s no directory of this kind anywhere in the world. Ritch says that among the subscribers are record company executives, music publishers, managers, agents, attorneys, studios and other various music business professionals.

In the past few months, after evaluating what is involved in converting LP’s that I have never found a CD for in any music store, it was suggested to search the internet to find if there is software or a procedure to simplify the process. Guess what, there is.

Although there are numerous ways to accomplish this task and it does require time, it can be done. Assuming your LP’s are still in decent shape and do not have alot of scratches and they are not warped, there is a company that has software to do this and it is very reasonably priced.

The software can be downloaded for a free. The website has extensive help for setting up and using the software and it is easy to use.

Basically, you need a cable that has 2 RCA plugs on one end and a mini plug on the other end. You connect the two RCA jacks to the line out or auxiliary outputs of your stereo receiver and the mini plug to the line input of your sound card. Then within the software you select the source for your recording (Line-In). The program includes both a sound recorder and sound editor.

Prior to recording, it is advisable to clean the heads on your cassette deck or have something to clean the records before trying to record from them. I personally use the Discwasher system, which you can still find in some music stores or find online. But even cleaning them will not remove the scratches. And even though the software has various filters for removing pops, clicks, etc., your converted songs will only sound as good as the original.

Now you are probably wondering, what is the piece of software called and where can you get a Free trial. The company is Polderbits Software. You will be able to see the system requirements, a FAQ section, what other users say, download or purchase it and a way to contact the company if you have questions.

I recommend this product, but it is a time consuming process and don’t be discouraged if after you convert a song or songs from one of your LP’s that it does not sound very good. Try different combinations of using the various filters and equalization to see what works best. But if your records are not in very good condition, it might just be a waste of time.

So far i have done maybe 10 LP’s and converted them to MP3′s and they sound fine to me. Hope this helps and you find it useful. And enjoy your music.

I am a computer consultant, with over 30 years of experience working with both IBM mainframes and pc’s. my email is mickey59@kc.rr.com website is http://www.thehelpfulshopper.net

Have you ever been to a Greek Wedding? I have. And it?s been a wonderful experience for me. I?ve never seen the Greek Dance before that wedding and have never heard their music. The moment I heard that music it amazed me so much, that I still think it?s the most brilliant and astonishing music.

At that wedding I observed the level of importance music and dance had upon Greek Culture. After changing my topic for our final project for Music248 three times, I decided to concentrate my expository paper on ancient and modern Greek dance. I asked myself: How has Greek Culture effect Greek dance?, What role does gender play in Greek dance? Utilizing a widespread of sources for research, I found that the history, religion, and gender have played key roles in shaping Greek dance. Moreover, stability in Greek culture has enabled Greek dance to stay alive for nearly 2500 years.

Greeks often dance to poetry by using their body in rhythmic manners in way that they can express themselves without speaking. Hence, Greeks use dance as a way to symbolically express themselves.

What roles do women play in the Greek musical world? According to Kimberly Marshall, author of Rediscovering the Muses, Greek society was inclined not to recognize women. However, women were always active in the musical life of Greece. The most renown women in music were educated women, usually from the upper-class of society. Other well-known females in ancient Greek music were the hetairai, who were the high-class prostitutes. The hetairai were considered to be companions to men and were physically stunning. Moreover, these women had artistic talents for singing, dance and musical instruments. Amazingly enough, some of these women had better educations than that of their male (high-class) patrons. Wives and reputable women were left at home during festivals and dances because the hetairai were of high demand, though never respected for their talents in music.

Hermes first invented or discovered music in Greece. Moreover, Hermes was the first to examine the precise arrangement of the stars and the harmony of music. In addition, the Greeks connected music with astronomy through Pythagoras’ theory of the harmony of the spheres. Greek mythology had deep impact on Greek music and dance. Dance in Ancient Greece has been fundamentally linked to religion and culture.

The word music was derived from the Greek word mousike or muse which then became music.

The article was produced by the member of masterpapers.com. Sharon White is a senior writer and writers consultant at term papers. Get some useful tips for thesis and buy term papers .

What kind of music did people listen to hundreds of years ago? That?s the question I?ll try to find the answer for in this article. During the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque eras there were lots of talented composers. I?ll discuss just one of them- Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen has been called by her admirers one of the most important figures in the history of the Middle Ages, and the greatest woman of her time. Her time was the 1100′s, she was born in 1098. She was the daughter of a knight, and when she was eight years old she went to the Benedictine monastery at Mount St Disibode to be educated. The monastery was in the Celtic tradition, and housed both men and women in separate quarters. When Hildegard was eighteen, she became a nun. Twenty years later, she was made the head of the female community at the monastery. Within the next four years, she had a series of visions, and devoted the ten years from 1140 to 1150 to writing them down, describing them which included drawing pictures of what she had seen, and commenting on their interpretation and significance. During this period, Pope Eugenius III sent a commission to inquire into her work. The community of nuns at Mount St. Disibode was growing rapidly, and they did not have adequate room. Hildegard accordingly moved her nuns to a location near Bingen, and founded a monastery for them completely independent of the double monastery they had left. She oversaw its construction, which included such features as water pumped in through pipes. Hildegard traveled throughout southern Germany and into Switzerland and as far as Paris, preaching. Her sermons deeply moved people, and she was asked to provide written copies. In the last year of her life, she was briefly in trouble because she provided Christian burial for a young man who had been excommunicated. Her defense was that he had repented on his deathbed, and received the sacraments. Her convent was subjected to an interdict, but she protested eloquently, and the interdict was revoked. She died on September 17, 1179. Her surviving works include more than a hundred letters to emperors and popes, bishops, nuns, and nobility. Many persons of all classes wrote to her, asking for advice, and one biographer calls her the Dear Abby of the twelfth century. She wrote 72 songs including a play set to music. Musical notation had only shortly before developed to the point where her music was recorded in a way that we can read today. Accordingly, some of her work is now available on compact disk, and presumably sounds the way she intended. Certainly her compositional style is like nothing else we have from the twelfth century.

The history of late twelfth-century polyphony was first written a hundred years after the event by a monk who may have come from Bury St Edmunds; history has not entrusted us with his name and he is usually referred to by the title he received when his dissertation was first published in the nineteenth century: Anonymous IV. Anonymous as he was, he tells us about one of the most important composers of the fifty years either side of 1200: the magistri Leoninus, we are told, wrote a cycle of two-part settings of the most important chants in the liturgical year – Christmas, Easter, Assumption and other feasts; this cycle was called the Magnus liber organi – ‘the great book of organum’. Organa of the type that make up Leoninus’ Magnus liber organi are polyphonic settings of plainsong. The original chants employ two musical styles: the solo sections are elaborately melismatic and contrast with the simpler, more syllabic, sections sung by the schola. It is the melismatic solo sections of the chant that are set polyphonically. The result is that a performance of organum involves polyphony and plainsong. Most of the music for the office written by Leoninus and his contemporaries consisted of settings of responsories. A responsorial was made up of a respond followed by a verse, followed by a repeat of part of the original respond. The ‘Gloria patri’ follows, and the work concluded with either the complete responsorial or a part thereof, depending on the status of the feast. Within each of these main sections are settings of both solo and choral chants. The respond consists of just the first couple of words set in polyphony followed by the rest of the choral chant; the verse is entirely set in polyphony; the partial repeat of the respond is always in plainsong; the ‘Gloria patri’ is set sometimes in polyphony, and sometimes left as plainsong. In the case of the responsorial ‘Sedit angelus’ 8 ‘Crucifixum in carne’, two settings are preserved in the principal manuscript for this repertory, and Red Byrd perform them both. In a liturgical context, only one of these would have been used. Leoninus’ organa dupla of the Magnus liber organi took the plainsong and did one of two things with it, the more syllabic sections of the chant that he set, he laid out the lowest part, the tenor, in long notes and wrote highly elaborate, rhapsodic lines above it, the duplum. This style of music was called organum per se. Alternatively, he took the long melismas of the chant and organized them into repeating rhythmic cells and wrote a correspondingly tight rhythmic duplum above it. The rhythmic organization of this procedure gave rise to what are called the rhythmic modes, this style was called discantus. Both types of music exist within the same composition; the sections based on highly melismatic chants that use the rhythmic modes are called clausulae when they are given discrete forms.

The article was produced by the member of masterpapers.com. Sharon White is a senior writer and writers consultant at term papers. Get some useful tips for thesis and buy term papers .

If you’re a songwriter then you have probably experienced the wonderful satisfaction that comes when you’ve finally completed a song. You might feel as though you’ve accomplished something very worthwhile, something meaningful. Along with this, there often follows a desire, almost a need, to share the song you’ve written with others. That is, until you realize there is a certain degree of risk involved if you do. What if they don’t like it? Are you willing to be vulnerable and take the risk?

When you put your heart and soul into a song it will become very important to you. The last thing you want is for your song to be thought of as trivial. Afterall, you may have revealed some very personal aspects of your life; things that have hurt you, or changed you.

As a songwriter, you have probably discovered that writing has a way of releasing all those pent-up emotions inside of you. There is a freedom that comes from singing the words you would probably never be able to speak. What joy! What liberation! Sometimes you want to sing it from the rooftops for the whole world to hear! But, let me ask you again, what if they don’t like it?

Being a songwriter isn’t easy. It requires a willingness to be vulnerable. It requires a willingness to be misunderstood and ridiculed. It requires a willingness to be on display for others to critique and judge. Are you willing to do that? Is it worth it?

The word vulnerable means: capable of being wounded or hurt; open to criticism; open to attack.

There have been times when I’ve been in front of an audience where I had to fight back the tears while singing a song I wrote. The words will hit me like a ton of bricks and I’ll wonder what in the world I’m doing singing about these things to strangers. They don’t know me. They don’t care what I’ve been through. Memories that I thought were dead and buried will rise to the surface again as if they happened yesterday. These kind of experiences often leave me feeling overwhelmed and exposed.

There have been other times however, when I have had to sing with all my might just to get people to listen to me. It’s almost like I’m not even there. People are talking, moving around, perhaps even bored. This can be very frustrating and humiliating for a songwriter to say the least.

Then there is always the human tendency that people have of comparing your song, your voice, your guitar playing, or whatever, with someone else they’ve heard before. One time, after I had just finished playing a guitar piece written by Bach, someone said something to me like: so and so plays that piece just beautifully, don’t you think? You can imagine how that made me feel…

But you know what I’ve learned? Being a successful songwriter isn’t only about what people think or say. Though you may have a desire for your music to be appreciated by others, that isn’t necessarily the bottom line. This became more clear to me when I was watching the Olympics recently. These gifted athletes spend years of their lives training for this special event. They want to have the chance to win a gold medal for their country. They want to have the chance to show the world they are the best. But even though they may truly be the best, something unexpected happens and their dreams are suddenly dashed. Does that mean they are no longer the gifted athlete they once thought they were? Does that mean they no longer have anything to offer?

Well, of course not! They still have very much to offer. In fact, they may have gained an even deeper insight into who they are and what they do because they’ve experienced such a great defeat. This may also give them an advantage in future competitions, or if they go on to teaching their skills to others. The real bottom line is they are an athlete first and foremost. That’s who and what they are.

In the same way, you are a songwriter. You are who you are, and you do what you do, because that is your interest, your passion. So take a lesson from the Olympians and put your whole self into it. Be the best you can be. Listen to constructive criticism, it can help you. Throw the rest away.

I’ve noticed that when I really put everything I’ve got into singing a song I’ve written, I usually get a better response from the audience. It’s as though they can identify with me and feel what I’m feeling. Perhaps they’ve experienced similar pain, joy or beauty in their lives which they can relate to. Whenever that happens, I know it was well worth the risk of becoming vulnerable to public opinion. But what about you? Are you willing to become a vulnerable songwriter too?

FREE Reprint Rights – You may publish this article in your e-zine or on your web site as long as you include the following information:

Kathy Unruh is singer/songwriter and webmaster of ABC Learn Guitar. She has been writing songs and providing guitar lessons to students of all ages for over 20 years. For free guitar lessons, plus tips and resources on songwriting, recording and creating a music career, please visit: http://www.abclearnguitar.com

Over the years, there have been many guitarists that stood out from the crowd – their skill, speed, ad showmanship distinguished them as experts. Here are just a few of them.

Jim Adkins, lead singer and lead guitarist for Jimmy Eat World, has been playing guitar since he was a youngster. Jim uses a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, but recently has been reported to use a Fender Telecaster.

George Harrison, born in England, was the lead guitarist for the famous, or perhaps infamous, band The Beatles! George also did some songwriting, and proved himself a quite capable songwriter. George also went on to become a film producer and even acted a few roles. But he is best known as the lead guitarist for the beloved Beatles!

Keith Richards, is best known as a founding member of The Rolling Stones,. (Though a small but fanatical group sees him primarily as the inspiration for Johnny Depp’s brilliant character, Captain Jack Sparrow.) That aside, Mr. Richards is one of the best guitarists to ever live. His nicknames include The Human Riff and Keef RiffHard.

Elvis Presley, though he isn’t one of the most skilled guitarists that ever lived, certainly deserves the title of The guitarist that brought the most change. With his guitar and his unique voice, Elvis started a rebellion – one that dwarfed all of the revolutions the world had seen up to that time, for this one covered the entire world, and is still going strong. While it directly killed no one, it was very powerful – it was that evil beat they called Rock Music!

Steven Curtis Chapman, while not exactly as influential as Elvis, certainly deserves the title of guitar virtuoso. Anyone who has seen Steven give a concert will know what I say when I say that his guitar is just an extension of his body. It seems that he can make that guitar talk just how he wants – with no effort!

Andrew Koblick’s Guitar Improvement DVDs include… Amazing Guitar- Improve Fast & the Ultimate Blues Primer – Play the Blues.

When starting to learn chords, most people will start with the basic major and minor chords, then on to 7th and minor 7th chords. You might be surprised to learn that when you have mastered all twelve minor 7th chords you have also potentially learned twenty-four 11th chords.

I love the sound of 11th chords; they somehow manage to give a big sound and are great for key changes. If you want to listen to good examples of 11th chords then listen to some early Barry Manilow music such as ?Even Now?, ?Mandy? and ?Cant smile without you?. Listen in particular to the key changes and there you have a good big sounding example of 11th chords in action.

So how to find the 11th chord from a minor 7th chord. First, learn all twelve minor 7th chords. Second, make sure you know where the fifth in any chord is. For example, the fifth in Gm7 is ?D?, which is seven semitones from the root. (?G? root to ?D? fifth is seven semitones)

Now you are ready to play an 11th chord. Let?s use G11 as our example. First work out what the fifth is in a G chord, the answer is ?D?, then make that ?D?, a Dm7 chord and most importantly play a ?G? bass note or pedal. So G11 = Dm7 with a ?G? bass.

Here are some more examples:

Chord Name = C11

Find the Fifth = G

Make it Minor = Gm7 (with a C bass note)

Chord Name = F11

Find the Fifth = C

Make it Minor = Cm7 (with a F bass note)

For the more technical minded. Let?s look more closely at the structure of the 11th chord. If we use C11 as our example,

ROOT = C (played as a bass note or pedal)

THIRD = not used

FIFTH = G

SEVENTH = Bb

NINTH = D

ELEVENTH = F

Notice the root is always played as a bass note or bass pedal. This note is very important and also helps the chord sound BIG. Try it. You should also notice that the third is not used. This means that our C11 can also be Cm11 because; the only difference between a major chord and a minor chord is the third.

So there you have it. Twelve major 11th chords, twelve minor 11th chords. That?s a total of twenty-four 11th chords from twelve minor 7th chords.

Visit http://www.mikesmusicroom.co.uk

About the Author
Michael David Shaw (Mike to his friends) runs the website http://www.mikesmusicroom.co.uk the place for organ and keyboard tuition and music news. You can email Mike at mike@mikesmusicroom.co.uk

Michael David Shaw (Mike to his friends) runs the website http://www.mikesmusicroom.co.uk the place for organ and keyboard tuition and music news. You can email Mike at mike@mikesmusicroom.co.uk